Warm day on the Ottawa River, good sunshine, around 74F, with SSW winds at 11 mph, gusting to 16 mph.Picked up my buddy Lawrence the Laser sailor, and off we went.Lawrence brought his GPS... which was good.Upwind, were were trucking along at 18 - 20 kph, or around 12.5 mph.

West of Aylmer Island, we turned and broad reached... hitting 25+ kph or better than 15 mph.That's when we met Andre and family on a KSC club 18, so we scooted up and down withthem for a bit.Time to go home, and the wind picked up.We finally hit a touch over 30 kph, or 18.75 mph.A Lazer never went this fast.....something to do with apparent wind?

Another good day on the water.

_________________1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

No, Lawrence is a good sailor, but on Lasers, not cats.Even though I handed him the tiller extension for about 25% of the time,I could tell he was too 'new' to cats to react quickly enough in a puff,plus his instinct is to 'head up', which is not good when running a spin.

That is why I was too nervous to use the chute,as I did not want to scare him off if we ended up swimming.

I popped it once, to show him how it worked...

next time....

_________________1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Well done John!Wish I could say we had a similar weekend. Raced the 'Barnegat Breezer' in NJ. 5-10 kts of variable heading breeze. Enough power boat chop to cause much swearing downwind. Beautiful weather, wonderful hosts at the regatta.

Interesting what you said about his instinct to "head up." My experience with multi-hulls is that when you get on that edge where you could go over, it's better to bear away which seems to make the boat sit back down.

I was talking with a Hobie 20 owner a few weeks back. He'd capsized his boat several times, including taking a header through his sail, and when I asked him which way he turned to avoid a capsize he said "towards the wind." Then he thought about it a few seconds and said, "Definitely towards the wind."

Interesting what you said about his instinct to "head up." My experience with multi-hulls is that when you get on that edge where you could go over, it's better to bear away which seems to make the boat sit back down.

I was talking with a Hobie 20 owner a few weeks back. He'd capsized his boat several times, including taking a header through his sail, and when I asked him which way he turned to avoid a capsize he said "towards the wind." Then he thought about it a few seconds and said, "Definitely towards the wind."

That sure hasn't been my experience.

When pointing... you head up to slow down, and when going downwind you bear off. Typically it's easier to learn pointing and heading up before bearing off when going downwind. That's been what I've seen with newbs or quasi newbs.

Definitely when sailing upwind or on a close reach, you want to turn the boat into the wind to depower/prevent capsizing. Bearing away will cause the boat to power up and turn over.

When sailing on a broad reach, you want to turn downwind to depower. Doing this stalls the sails and also uses the floatation of the bows to counteract the boat's tendency to capisze.

When sailing on a powered up beam reach, things can get dicy and you really have to go by feel as turning in either direction can cause you to capsize or save you. Usually on a beam reach, it's best to work the sheet and steer a straight line since dumping the sheet will almost always keep you upright.

It was my pleasure Mike, and thank you for your insights and explanations,and most of all, demonstrations as to how to really sail the H18.

Your tips and tricks were invaluable...How to get the crew to help me sheet in the main, to scallop upwind on one hull,to look for lanes of wind, to S curve downwind, and to sit forward and havetrust in the high buoyancy of the hulls... and how to drive the H18 smoothly.

We'd love to do some more this weekend.... you know how to reach me...and the weather forecast is good!

We'll be glad to buy you and yours a cold refreshing beverage... or two.

_________________1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Thanks again for invite. You have a great boat and it was really nice being back on a Hobie 18 again.Sorry I was not a better crew as I am a little out of practice crewing,too much helming these days.Would really like to get out again and get that Tiger Shute up and driving,but Wife and family have there own agenda.I will give you a call if I get freed up.